Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Unfortunately, our cars and house were broken into last night, 3300 block of Brookwood Rd, corner of North Edge. They broke into our cars and accessed the house via the garage door.

Many things were taken, mountain bikes, Christmas gifts, etc.

Our genie garage remote is still out there so if they ditched, and you see it, please let us know.

If anyone heard anything or saw anything please let us know.

The sheriffs are due out this morning.

We are sad for all the loss, but grateful we are safe.

Another great reminder of how high this time of year crimes like this are.

A follow up:

I wanted to give you updates to the string of thefts in our neighborhood.

On Sunday/Monday morning we are now 1 of 3 homes targeted.

Another car on North Edge was hit and a home on Regent.

The couple that I caught in our neighborhood during
the heavy rain storm in November, is the same couple that has been seen
in the early hours approaching homes and cars.

They are a white male and female in their 40s, skinny, and on bikes.

She wears a red rain parka/jacket and wears the hood up.

He was in sweat pants and wears a black baseball hat.

This couple has now been seen several times still in the neighborhood.

I found out today from a man that walks our neighborhood, that he
saw this couple Thanksgiving week on North Edge. He was out walking
early and asked them what they were doing on the side of a home. They
quickly then took off on their bikes.

This couple is targeting our homes and cars.

For the past month they are getting items and will continue too.

Please let's keep an eye out for them and help the Sheriffs arrest them.

CSI was able to lift some prints from our car and garage yesterday. I am hoping they get them from this.

From our neighborhood):

Dec 9 auto burglary 2200 block of Ione

A neighbor on the 2200
block of Ione street reports: Last night my car was broken into. I'm not sure if
it was locked. I have a 2008 Toyota highlander. They took apart my
steering wheel and took the air bag. They also stole my kids sporting
equipment for both soccer and basketball. One of our neighbors has video
cameras so they are going to check them when they get home. I will let you know if anything comes of that. Just wanted to let you know so you can send out a warning.

November 27th bicycle theft 3700 block of Duran Circle

I wanted to let you know that yesterday (Wednesday)
while [my husband] was home and going in and out if house someone came into our
garage and stole my brand new Santa Craig mountain bike. Our garage
was open but he was home and we had our jeep backed up to the garage.

Sometime from December 1st through 6th license plate theft 2800 block of Marilona

A resident had their rear license plate stolen off of their vehicle.

A note from our crime prevention specialist for the North Division of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department:

I’m receiving a larger number of emails and phone calls about property theft/burglaries this month and last. This time of year is seemingly high theft season:

If you’re home or off at work or on vacation, make sure that everything is locked up securely. This includes backyard gates, all doors to your garage, doors from your rear yard to your house and doggy doors when not in use.

Suspicious people loitering, lingering,
wandering around going door to door or up on properties in your
neighborhood at night should be reported to dispatch as being
suspicious. Describe their behavior to the dispatcher. If they have a vehicle, get a good description of everything and be a good witness. Call immediately, don’t wait. 874-5115. Don’t tell them you’re calling the cops or tip them off. DON”T FOLLOW OR CONFRONT.

If someone knocks or rings your doorbell, talk through the door. Teach your kids to talk through the door, but not to open it.

Leave lights on timers on inside your home. Have timers go off in different parts of your house at different times to mimic that you’re actually home.

If you have a work vehicle or trailer, and it contains tools it is a target if it is parked on your driveway or street.

Work vehicles/trailers containing tools must be parked in an enclosed yard or garage.

In the Arden area we are having multiple
reports of trailer hasps being cut with saws and metal around the hasps
being sawed to enter and steal high dollar items. Lots of
$150 to $3,000 bikes being stolen. Also many vehicle break-ins and gas
thefts and numerous mail thefts in many areas of the county. Cars
and motorcycles and dirt bikes and power tools and hand tools and
coins, any and all electronic digital cameras and laptops, phones and presents
in the car or wrapped under the tree, designer goods; eye glasses to
shoes, cash, guns, jewelry, alcohol are being stolen. LOCK UP VALUABLES. Buy an engraver and put your driver’s license number on expensive tools and bikes.

Check your mailbox regularly if your mail is coming late in the day. Don’t leave mail overnight in your box. Report mail theft to the US Post office or to the Sheriff’s Department. Report ID theft/ fraud to the Sheriff’s Department.

NEVER mail outgoing mail from your mailbox. If you see someone taking mail, call emergency line 874-5111.

If you have a vacant house nearby please
or know that your neighbor is gone, be alert to unusual lights/activity
in the house/garage at night. Call 9-1-1 if you think that a burglar may be there. The early cover of darkness and , cold and rain will keep most people inside as soon as they get home. Its perfect weather for burglars.

When you shop, go store to store or arrive home, take everything out of your vehicle. Never leave anything including jackets or bags.

Finally, please go and visit the elderly neighbors down the street. See if they have their heat on, if they need to take a trip to the grocery store or might need someone to talk to.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

We had a car break in October 29th on the 2500 block of Catalina. They left all of the doors and trunk open. (Car doors were left unlocked). The house down the street on the left hand side close to LaSuen has
a car that is parked outside that always has its lights on with
somebody in it at 4 or 5 am. When I head to the gym, the light is on in the car. [Note, I'm not sure of the significance of the car with its lights on--if this is every morning, it's probably a resident who rises early.]

On the night of October 29-30, there was a car burglary on the 2600 block of
Andrade and another one on the night of October 7th on the 2800 block of Alamitos.
In both cases the
vehicles were left unlocked and the thieves, took what was available to them.

Please remember to file a report with the sheriff dept at this address http://www.sacsheriff.com/online_reporting/index.cfm unless you have an emergency such as a crime in progress--then dial 911. No matter how small the crime may seem, more reports mean more patrols, which can reduce crime in our neighborhood.

Vandalism, September 17th in the afternoon
On the 2800 block of Avalon a vandal spray painted "Give up, God is here" on the side of a home in red paint. They also painted what appears to be the Eye of Providence, or eye within a triangle.

From the Cowan Neighborhood Watch Group:Home Burglary

At 2:50 AM this morning (November 20) I was awoken by a loud metal noise. I went to go see, and too my surprise it was right next to our home.

There
were two people in the pouring rain in bikes on the next door neighbor's
driveway. They were at the house for sale on Brookwood with the large
white dumpster on it. They told me they were only going through for cans
and bottles and were leaving. I did not believe them so I continued to
drive out of the driveway and to drive around the block to see where
they were headed.

After driving around the block I noticed they were
back to the house. I noticed the items they had, a small shop vac, and
3-4 black garbage bags of items. I then called the Sheriff's Dept. They
took off on bike. The male is white and wore a baseball cap. He was
riding an older silver color 10 speed. The woman is white and was in a red
rain parka. They took off towards the school.

The Sheriffs came out around 3:10. I told them what had happened and they said they would look into it.

When
I pulled back in the driveway I went and walked on the driveway next
door. To my surprise I noticed a gas weed eater on the side of it and
the backyard gate was open. I let the responding Sheriffs know. They
checked out to make sure the house was secure.

I assumed they took the weed eater from the yard sale items at the
end of Regent and Northwood. They went down and spoke with the owners of
that home this morning too. This morning I found a very large metal box
end wrench on the side of our home (North Edge side) in the street.
Yes, that was what they dropped that awoke me.

I let them also know about the homeless tent at the creek and they said they would look into that.

I KNOW that couple will be back to go after more items left out on the driveway at the end of Regent.

PLEASE keep on eye out for them or any others right now.

As
we begin the holiday season please look out for our each others homes.
Every year stories of home break ins for Christmas gifts are all over the news.

Please call the Sheriffs right away. Please do it yourself and DO NOT assume someone else will.

I am sad to say I think too many people think someone else will.

Here are great phone numbers to save and use:

874-5115 for the Sheriffs Dept Non Emergency

874-5111 for Emergency

Update to this story on November 22nd:

A home was broken into on North Edge. The home owner is fixing it up and it is vacant now.

There were many items stolen, as in weed eater, pressure washer,
and many other items. I am assuming the large wrench that was dropped on
the street outside our window that awoke me was from there.

This same women was seen in the neighborhood this evening too around 7 PM.

If the Cowan Group is able to drive these criminals out of their neighborhood, we may be next. Thanks to the Cowan Group for the communication, and let's stay on the lookout.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

This is just a housekeeping note. I'll keep updating the blog, but it looks like the gentleman who handles the updates via e-mail also has a facebook page, and incidents may be posted there quickly than they're e-mailed out. If you'd like to get updates that way, visit:

Monday, October 14, 2013

The residents returned home to find a strange key in the front door lock. The sheriff was called, and stated
that some burglars use this skeleton key (also called a bump key because of its method of use), by hammering it into the
lock. The sheriff also stated that they hadn't seen this used in a
while and removed and took the key. No entry was made.

Suspicious vehicle

Oct 7 suspicious vehicle/activity Kings way/Duran Cir/Butano Dr

A resident on Kings Way was awake at
approx 3:25 AM in the morning and observed a vehicle driving up and down Kings Way, Duran Cir, and onto Butano Drive. The resident had been watching this
for approx 20 minutes when the vehicle (a brown "Nissan Quest" style
van) pulled up in front of his house. The passenger (who
seemed to be looking at a GPS, or Smartphone) then exited the van and
started approaching the house. The resident made his presence known, and
the passenger reentered the vehicle, and the van sped off. A partial on
the license plate was 5EM.

Car Theft

August 21, 2013, auto theft, 2500 block of AndradeAt approximately 5:15 AM, a small car pulled up to the house and an individual,
went to a work van parked in the driveway, opened the door of the
van, started it up, backed out of the driveway and sped off. The owner (who usually leaves and is up at this time) chased after the
vehicle. Upon returning to his house and discovering the thieves
vehicle, he called law enforcement. The abandoned vehicle was also stolen and a large number of Ford auto keys were left on the seat. Apparently these thieves had copies of keys and use them to steal
vehicles. If you have an older Ford (ones that don't have the electronic chip) you should have a deterrent, such as a club, type
device or an alarm.

Equimpent Theft
Theft 2500 block of Cambon

Late night/early morning of September 1st or 2ndA resident reported the theft of landscaping equipment after the thieves cut a padlock on a gate.

Another resident several houses from the first had something taken, asthere were drag marks across the lawn, (resident wasn't home, and hasn'treturned as of this notice, to determine what was missing). A neighbor saw atruck near the house prior to
this.

Auto Burglaries

September 15, 2500 block of Andrade auto burglaries

3 vehicles had their windows smashed so burglars could gain access during the night.

No further information is available at this time.

From the Cowan neighborhood watch group

We had a break in night and one on Friday afternoon.

Car Burglary

Thursday night (September 19th) a car was gone through and they took stuff from it on Montclaire and Pope.

Attempted Burglary, possibly a Bump Key used

Friday (September 20th), a home was attempted to be burglarized in
the afternoon on Brookwood by Regent. They tried to go in through the
door and messed up the locks.

Friday, August 16, 2013

From a neighboring group:Tuesday, August 13th, all
the gas was stolen from my car on North Edge Drive and I was left with
so little gas that I could not have driven to a station. My husband
noticed the door to the gas tank was open on my car this morning and had
me check, and sure enough all the gas was gone. My husband has a new
car and said that his gas was fine, but he thinks his car was tampered
with electronically, maybe to try and steal it, because the calendar was
wrong this morning and some other electronic things were acting oddly. Messy Recycling Scavengers:Recycling scavengers were out last night and they caused a problem on my property. They'd left both cans open, and piled recycling materials high up in my open garbage can, such that the garbage truck probably wouldn't have taken my garbage had they come by before I fixed it. I had nothing worth their time in my recycling--just cardboard, really. They left a few small items strewn about my lawn for me to clean up. We sleep at the back of the house, so we didn't hear them to call the police, but please, please if you notice scavengers call the sheriff's nonemergency dispatch number and get an officer out.

A bit of littering is just an inconvenience, but the activity of these people can hide identity theft activities, casing of houses, and even if they have no worse motives, they'll lower your property values just by scavenging.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Friday night/Saturday morning, a resident had their car egged on the 3800 block of Kings Way. This is the second egging in a month.

Kings Way/Marilona Corridor

Sometime Sunday Night/Monday Morning (July 8th), 5 traffic control signs were knocked down on Kings Way/Marilona. So far, there are no witnesses, so it's not clear if a person or vehicle did it. Sac county was very fast at putting the signs back up.

3800 block of Duran Circle

Visiting relatives of residents had their truck burglarized. A toolbox was removed.

3921 el camino (vacant house for sale)
On Friday, June 28th, a white male adult, approx 26 yrs old, 6ft-6'2" tall
was encountered at approx 9pm. The individual had some items that he
said that he had found in a garbage can (garbage pick up was that
morning) this individual was informed that the sheriff's department was on its way,
and that the house had been broken into previously. He stated that he
had a prior burglary conviction, as I was the only one there and the
sheriff wouldn't respond to this type of call on a Friday night, when the temperature was over 100 degrees, I told him to leave.

The items are in the attachments: motorcycle
windshield, seat, jacket and a backpack that had a receipt from
Rite Aide on Truxel Road dated 12-29-1987. This individual has been seen
at the "flophouse" located at 2612 Butano, with a bicycle pulling a
trailer.

4100 Block of Marconi
Tuesday, 07/09 a white male driving a white Toyota (Possibly a Corolla), parked in the neighbor's driveway and walked through the side gate of the vacant residence, returned
within a minute, got into his vehicle and left. Unfortunately, my camera did not have an adequate lens to capture the license plate. The
neighbors were alerted to this activity.

Please note that thieves in nearby neighborhoods are stripping any metals from abandoned homes, causing thousands of dollars in damage and making the homes unsalable. Permanent vacancies in our neighborhood will decrease property values and invite more criminal activity and squatters. Call the police if you see such activity!

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department is pleased
to announce a partnership with the California Product Stewardship
Council and Sacramento leaders in the "Don’t Rush to Flush" campaign.
The Sheriff’s Department is proudly hosting one of six pharmaceutical
secured drop-off bins where unused or expired medication can be properly
disposed of safely and conveniently.Prescription and
over-the-counter drugs, pet medications and medicated ointments can be
collected at this host location as long as they are properly packaged.
Information regarding packaging and additional drop off bin sites can be
found at the Don’t Rush to Flush website at

www.DontRushToFlush.orgThe Sheriff’s North
Patrol Division is located at 5510 Garfield Avenue and drop offs are accepted between 9:30AM-4:30PM.

www.dontrushtoflush.org

Found dog, (chihuahua) on Loreto near Kings and Carrisa.

Attached is a picture of an apparently healthy male dog found in the neighborhood.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Of the license plate of the navy blue truck in the aggressive scavenger (last post), Chuck adds: California commercial plates have a number first followed by a
letter and 5 numbers until recently where there are 5 numbers a
letter and a number. This plate was apparently used as a way to hide
the identity of the truck's owner.

I was careful obtaining the plate number (which is how I was spotted doing it). The plate was older, blue background with gold letters/numbers. More important is that if you see the man (50's, gray hair and beard) in his early 90's model Navy Blue Ford Extended Cab stealing recycling, don't let him see you as he becomes aggressive. Just call the police. If you can get the license plate to confirm, that's fine, too. If the plate is a misdirect, then he'll be doubly cautious about attracting police attention and may not return to our neighborhood.

Additional information on the Casing Incident on Marilona
Chuck talked to the resident and found out this was more than casing. The occupant of this vehicle removed a window screen and was checking
the house for occupancy when the residents returned and announced
themselves. Reportedly, there was another individual involved. (How a second individual was involved is not clear).

Friday, June 21, 2013

I'm sorry for the delay in posting. It's been quite a busy couple of weeks for me. We have a few reports to add. Please note that we have people casing our homes. Please call the Sheriff's department for these suspicious activities.

Today there was a very aggressive recycling scavenger on Watson Street. He was in a navy blue (almost black appearing) early 90's model Ford Extended cab license plate number TN46468. It has some front end damage. I had to go outside to get his plate. When I did, he started screaming at me and called me "chickensh*t" for taking his plate number. He wouldn't let me say anything to explain neighborhood watch always takes license plate numbers for suspicious activity in our neighborhood. He drove off when I said the sheriff's department had been called. The driver/scavenger is a man in his 50's, gray hair and beard. This morning he had a red t-shirt on. He was aggressive enough I'm worried he'll seek to retaliate, so if you see him in our neighborhood, especially near Eastern and El Camino Avenues, please call the sheriff's department right away.

He tried to reassure me he wasn't an identity thief, but honestly the fact he knew I might be conscious of that indicates that might have been his purpose.

From a neighbor on Butano (e-mail virus)

I'm sending this out because I know a few people who have gotten emails
with the friend/sender's name in the subject heading. I received 2
myself - One ironically - I had been expecting an email with that
person's name in the subject heading. Unfortunately, when I opened the
email - I quickly saw it was not actually sent from my friend.

There's
a virus going around. If you have your email accounts like me (online)
and you receive one of these pesky virus/emails - all you have to do is
change your password on your account. This will prevent any virus from
using your password to send out more viruses. When I originally opened
the email/virus - I suddenly lost access to all of my contacts. I
contacted Microsoft and luckily, it was a problem on their end and not a
result of any virus.

The only
reason that I'm sending this out to everyone now, is because we all
need to share this info with others who may not know about it. I am
diligent as is one of my senders who had the virus - about never opening
anything without a subject heading or anything unusual, etc. He has no
idea how he got the virus, as he did not open/receive any odd emails.
He did some online tracking and his account was accessed from Hungary,
when the emails were sent. So, go figure.

So, again - tell your friends, etc. that if they get any emails with the sender's name in it, to beware!Also, one thing I've noticed is that my G-mail account never has any viruses sent to it - but live.com/hotmail one does every couple of months. So, I may be letting this one go - and just keeping my Gmail. We'll see.

Have a great day!BEWARE
OF ANY EMAILS THAT ARE ADDRESSED TO YOU AND HAVE NO SUBJECT OR THE SENDER'S NAME AS THE SUBJECT LINE. The subject line should be something relatively directed to something that you would connect to with the
sender.

June 17th, Suspicious Activity incident on Duarte ct

This morning at 6am
I happened to glance out my front window and saw someone looking in the
window of my car. I ran out there and said, "What the @&!? are you
doing?" It was a young woman, white, late teens/early twenties. She just
smiled and got into a car driven by a male with two other females in
the back. The vehicle was dark blue or gray, possibly an Altima, a small
4 door sedan. I was more concerned about getting the license plate
#6TTF628. I made a report to the sheriff immediately after.

June 16th Suspicious Activity 2800 block of marilona

Someone was casing our home as we left. We circled back confronted took pic of plates called sheriff.

picture attached. License is disabled plate, 7597Z DP.

Jun 11 Suspicious Activity (approx 2pm) 2800 block of ione

A
black male adult with a shopping cart was going through waste cans that
were up at the houses. In one instance, the cans were next to an
"unattended" open garage. The sheriff dept was called, and responded to
the area, within 10 minutes. The individual was not found on ione or
barbarell, and the deputy drove into the central neighborhood. (it is
unknown as to the outcome). The responding deputy did state that "allowing people to come onto your property gives them the excuse to
look into your vehicles or other places," (this is a summation of the
conversation).

Jun 10, Recycling Theft 5pm-ish 3700 block of duran circle

A resident had staged a small bag of recyclables for a friend on their front porch. A male in his late teens riding a
bicycle by the house apparently noticed the bag and stopped and
approached the house. The resident saw the action and thought someone
was coming to the door, and awaited the knock/doorbell, which didn't
come. Upon checking the door, the bag was gone and the person had left.

VACANT HOMES, USED AS RESIDENCES!

May 30, a garage sale was set up at 4100 Marconi, (at the intersection of Norris, at the traffic light). This
house has been vacant and borded up, tied up in a trust for at least 4
years. A nearby neighbor said that the garage door was open when they passed by. The sheriff dept was called, ( the disposition of the call is
unknown).

At
approx 1pm, on Saturday, the 2 subjects set up their garage sale and the sheriff dept responded, and arrested or detained two individuals.

According to nearby
neighbors this house, has been stripped of it's recyclable materials, and has no services, (water, electricity, gas)...but is a continuing problem.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

A disturbing incident occurred last night on Carrisa way. Some unknown individual(s) set fire to an American flag which had been displayed from a front porch. (Note: Flag etiquette would suggest flags should be taken down at night unless a spotlight shines on them, and should always be taken down in inclement weather--this also minimizes opportunities for nighttime mischief). Fortunately the house did not catch on fire.

Probably related, three houses away a neighbor found a rolled up "Carmichael Times" newspaper between their trailer and fence in the driveway that appeared to have been used as a torch because one end was burned. There's no way to determine if this was the ignition source for the flag, but a connection does seem likely.

This willful disregard for life and property should be reported to the Sheriff's Department. Note that arson is a serious crime and they might actually try to fingerprint the newspaper.

Lawn Job

A front lawn was vandalized by an irresponsible motorist on the 3700 block of Kings Way.

This weekend is the traditional kick off to the Summer season, and many of our neighbors will be taking off for the weekend. If you're leaving, be sure to inform your trusted neighbors, give them contact info and even a key if you're closer acquaintances. With recent incidents in the neighborhood, there are those looking for opportunities to make themselves more comfortable at your expense. Also, solicitors may be around, distributing information. Have your neighbors pick up your newspapers and mail (Monday's a postal holiday, so it's just Saturday) so that any random doorknocker can't tell if occupants are home or not.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Last night my truck was broken into. They took sunglasses, gift
cards, my work bags with just paper and packets in them, a fishing down
rigger, and soccer stuff.

If you know anything or see a black US Bank messenger bag or WM
Group of Funds messenger bag, please let me know so I can get that
paperwork back. I am assuming it has just been thrown in a garbage can,
since there is nothing of value to them.

Pushy Salesman

Also received an email from a neighbor today about a
very pushy alarm sales rep. He says he is with ADP, but the neighbor
was not happy with the way they were questioned and lied too.

Any information on the bags sent to DPMNeighborhoodwatch@gmail.com will be forwarded on to the affected person in the Cowan group. It's doubtful the thief would have bothered to dump the items in our neighborhood, but if you do see them, let's get them back to their rightful owner. Thanks, neighbors!

At approximately 1:15 AM on May 22 another house with a "For Sale" sign posted was broken into. The criminal kicked in the back door just like the B&E on Lasuen a few days ago. An alert neighbor contacted the sheriff's department, which responded and arrested the intruder.

A resident heard the suspect tell a deputy that they "might as well let him go as what
he did was a misdemeanor, and the jail will let him go anyway."

The subject is an early release felon parolee who was released due to overcrowding, and budget issues.

The subject also stated that he was a ward of the county. (The
state of California is pushing the burden of incarceration of inmates to the county level, which the counties don't have the economic resources to handle, either.)

Chuck is going to lobby to the Sheriff's department to post photos and
names of those caught in similar circumstances so that the criminals who prey on our neighborhood(s), will be recognized and
venture elsewhere.

Note: The suspect may be correct that he'll be promptly released, but we'd rather have him sheltering in jail than in a home he's broken into in our neighborhood. Also, when the suspect is a felon parolee, the results of even a misdemeanor arrest may be more serious than for the average criminal. No matter what the outcome, the suspect is out of our neighborhood for a while at least and might decide to find vacant houses in another if we don't tolerate the B&E's the way he'd like.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Often times criminals get away with their activities because people don't know they're happening. That's why our watch e-mails and blog exist. We've been getting news through Chuck about our neighbors in the Cowan area, and now I've asked to be put on that list, too. So, we'll be seeing more items from our neighbors. With any luck, what happens there will help us be more prepared, and if they follow us here, they may be more prepared, too.

From the Cowan group administrator:Two Burglaries

I just was informed of two home break ins yesterday. I do not have all the details but this is what I have:

Two homes on the 3200 block of Brookwood Rd., homes right across from one another based on addresses.

-both home owners were gone and work

-suspects entered through side gate

-they were pros and were after high end items, jewelry, motorcycle, electronics, etc.

IF YOU KNOW OF ANYTHING PLEASE LET US ALL KNOW ASAP (any information provided to dpmneighborhoodwatch@gmail.com will be passed on to the Cowan group administrator on these break-ins.

There have also been some of these in the DPM neighborhood across from us on the Marconi side in between Eastern and Watt.

A sheriff crime report came through about a burglary on Lasuen, but
residents on the block didn't report it. A message was sent out
to the neighbors there asking if anyone was aware of this. The report indicates that a house for sale with a for sale sign posted had the back door kicked in and the perpetrator took a shower and stayed the night.

The property owner has since taken down the "for sale" sign.

If you have a vacant home near you, you should be aware that there are those that move through the
neighborhood looking for opportunities to find shelter or scavenge
what they can. It is yourneighborhood, and your investment. Be alert and report anything suspicious to the sheriff dept.

emergency number (from a landline) 911

from a cell phone 874-5111

non - emergency 874-5115

From the Cowan Watch Group

Hello Neighbors,

It looks like last weekend a car on the corner of Regent and
Brookwood and a trailer on Regent were tagged with spray paint. I do
not know if there were any other cars but please let me know if you know
anything about it so I can let these two neighbors know.

As for the reckless driver on May 2, she was caught that night. I
found out that she had attempted to rob the 7-Eleven here that night
too. She attempted to and then she began the reckless driving.

Reminder, as temperatures increase so does crime. We always see a
rise in the hotter months. Please be on the look out and report anything
so we are ALL in the loop and aware.

Community Meeting

What: A Community Meeting to End Homelessness, Save Devastated Neighborhoods,and Provide Health Care for All

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Recently Chuck has received verbal reports about incidents in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, he's been busy and doesn't get to send these out to the group as often as he'd like.

You can also e-mail reports to dpmneighborhoodwatch@gmail.com They will be filtered for content and anonymized if you include any personal details.

A box of checks was stolen from a mailbox on the 2600 block of Andrade approximately 3 weeks ago. The crooks used $1,500 worth of checks. No more details are available at this time.

Vandalism occurred in the 2800 block of Marilona about two weeks ago. A vehicle parked in a driveway was shot by a bb gun, shattering a side window.

Approximately 2 weeks ago on the 2500 block of Butano at around 5:45 AM, a vehicle parked in a driveway was struck by another vehicle with enough force to
push it into the neighbor's yard. The hit and run driver had hit a
steel post cemented into the ground before colliding with the
residents car. No other info available.

Saturday, May 4th at almost 6:00 PM on the 2500 block of Butano a white male adult approximately 35-40 years
old and riding a bicycle stopped at a house and repeatedly pounded on the
front door. When the resident responded through the kitchen window, the person stated that he used to live next to the Prichards, and
mentioned wild geese. When the resident convinced the person to
leave, the person went to the next door neighbor, and repeated his
action. [Note from Chuck--behavior like this is worthy of a report to the Sheriff's Department.]

In
the last couple of weeks Chuck has noticed that a couple of street signs
have been run down. The first was a street name post at the East end of Duran Circle, and Kings Way. The second was a stop sign at the corner of Loreto and Kings Way, which may coincide with an
incident in the Cowan neighborhood.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

The interiors of several cars at adjacent homes on Duran circle were ransacked. The crook seemed to be looking for specific items as he/she
went through the vehicles laying out items on the seats. The glove
compartments and the center consoles were left open, after the
crimes.

"E-waste/recycle" pick-up, April 15th

Many
of you may have had posted on your house or car a
yellowish notice about an e-waste pick-up on Monday. One neighbor
had called the number listed at the bottom twice. The person who picked up said they have been called many times and that they were not related to any pick-up. The neighbor contacted one of the distributors of the flyers, and
she called the number and got Pedro, who was doing the pick-up. I
called the number and spoke to an hispanic individual who he said that
he was doing the pick-up. On the flyer, they ask you to fill out your
name and address for the pick-up of televisions, and monitors, or there
will be no pick-up. I wouldn't recommend giving out this information, as the operation seems shady at best.The recycling of e-waste can be very profitable, which is why people are willing to do it for free.Many local groups run fund raising e-waste pick-ups or donation areas that are less suspect.

Update on the Marconi Self-Storage Facility

The Marconi self-storage facility was to open as of April 15, as reported by Chris, who will be the on-site
attendant. Chris mentioned that he will be allowing the Sheriff's department K-9 units to run their dogs though, to keep out the riffraff.

Robbery, April 20th at Safeway (Arden and Watt)

Reported by one of our neighbors: Please
be on alert! I was at Safeway today, the one on Arden and Watt when a
couple of women who pretended to be nice stole my wallet out of my
purse. One distracted me while the other lifted my wallet. I thought
they were mother and daughter, one was in their late 20s and the other
in their mid to late 40s (both black). I have spent all day cancelling
cards and Monday will need to replace my drivers license and military ID
card. They immediately went to Ross and charged over $700 in
merchandise before the card company could cancel.

Editor's note: I'm sure you have, but please make a report to the Sheriff's department on this. Then you should immediately freeze your credit files with the three bureaus.

It is nice it has been a while since I have sent out an email, no problems to report until now.

April 10th:

Last
night a little after 6 PM, I heard a car go tearing by our house. The
car then lost control and spun out on our neighbors lawn, barely missing
their cars in their driveway, and tearing up their front lawn. The car
took off and left the scene. It was great because their were many
neighbors who saw it and reacted. We were able to get a plate and
description for the CHP. It was a darker blue Mitsubishi two door that
had three male teenagers in it. My Dad and I saw them pull over on
Norris and Whitney to look at the car damage. they then left through the
Robertson and Hancock area. The CHP came and took a report and are
looking for the car.

Here is the update from last night:

The boy came back
and apologized and will be fixing everything. This new 16 year old
driver learned many great life lessons when the CHP knocked his door.

Applies to our group as well:

Please email anything for the neighborhood. I always try and get things out ASAP.

The
purpose of this list is to keep us all informed. With the summer
fast approaching CRIME INCREASES and WE ALL need to be aware and
INVOLVED.

PLEASE get your neighbors on this list. Reassure them it is only neighborhood news and never is political nor sales related.

Attempted Car Burglary, April 12

On
Friday (4/12) night a neighbor woke up in the middle of the night to
hear people outside. This started around 2AM. They were awoken by a car
driving by slowly. These neighbors watched the vehicle drive down the
street. Then 10-15 minutes later this same white Chevy Tahoe was driving
by again. Again, these neighbors heard it, went to their window, and
watched them leave. The third time the car drove by a white male got out
and went to Dean's white work truck, at the corner of Regent and
Brookwood. Robert came out of the house with a flashlight asking them
what they were doing and they left on foot.

The neighbors were proactive and called the Sheriff's department right away.

They
were arrested as they left the neighborhood. The criminals had items in
their car to siphon gas and were wanted for other felony arrest
warrants.

Way to go Robert and Veronica! This
is why I always recommend to check out your windows if you get up or
are awoken in the middle of the night. Most vehicle break ins and theft
of catalytic converters happen between 1 AM and 4 AM in the morning
here. I hope we are all more alert as summer is fast approaching and
vehicle break ins increase.

Monday, April 8, 2013

I'm sorry for the delay on this post. We were victims of identity theft, so please call in those garbage/recycling scavengers. They may be stealing your information.

Mail theft (Carrisa near Loreto wy) March 12

Mail
was stolen off of a porch mailbox on Tuesday, March 12 around 10:00 AM
in the morning. According to the neighbor's landscapers, they noticed a
suspicious black man near the property and tried to get his attention. When the black man realized he was being watched he ran off toward
Kings Way with something under his arm. With the information the man
received from the stolen mail, he attempted to open two new credit
cards, and tried to cash the check after he changed the information
written on it. The matter is currently being investigated by local law
enforcement agencies.

Just
a note: If you have a porch mailbox, a cheap, and good way to detect if
someone is on your porch is to buy, a "driveway detector." It is
motion activated, and the receiver chimes. It is wireless, and around
$14.00 at harbor tool and freight. (If you have cats or other animals
that frequent your porch, this may not work, as it will always be
chiming.)

Eggings (Kings Way) Monday Mar 25

A car on the 3800 block and several houses on the 3900 block ofKings Way were egged Monday night or Tuesday morning. It wasSpring break, so kids are were of schooland eggs were on sale due
to Easter... "cheap fun", for the vandals, not so much for the victims.

Recycling Scavengers

Scavengers continue to come out in force to get what
they can from your cans, (both garbage, and recyclable). Attached is a
picture of an individual and the vehicle that he was linked with. this
individual (last recycle day), spent an inordinate amount of time going
through a garbage can when the recycle can was nearby. This
would seem suspicious, and may be attempting to retrieve information on
the resident identity. (MAKE SURE THAT YOU SHRED, ALL PERSONAL INFO,
BEFORE DISCARDING IT). Call the sheriff non-emergency number, if you see
someone going through your cans, and
record any info.

On March 29, a black man on a bicycle was going through recycling. I made a report to the Sheriff's department.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this e-mail, my wife and I were victims of identity theft. Please report scavengers. It is the perfect cover for identity theft. It doesn't matter if the scavengers really only after recycling. Remember, that's revenue the county needs and will eventually raise your taxes to get, so they're stealing from all of us. Further, it will lower your property values by making our neighborhoods more seedy. Don't confront them directly, but please do call the Sheriff's department. They don't respond every time, but they do respond.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

A home in the 2700 block of Marilona was burglarized on Monday, March 18, sometime between 10 AM and 3:30 PM. Computers, personal ID of
family, jewelry etc. taken. an ADT door to door salesmen. informed
neighbors of this. The victim said at one point yesterday morning
before her daughter left the house, 2 black females came up the steps
and looked into the front windows but they did not see her inside. Someone
else (later) saw a black male walking past her house with 2 back packs
over his shoulder. A neighbor saw this same person at about 3 to 3:30
walking past their driveway as they came out to leave. When they looked
at him he quickly looked away and crossed the street.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

A
warning! This morning my wife went out to deposit some last minute
garbage in the can before the pick up and returned asking if the
garbage truck had come yet. It hadn't.

(I keep the recycle can close to the house until morning on recycling pick up days because of scavengers). In any case it seems that someone removed our trash bag as it was
convenient to grab the bag and go.

(I was awoken twice and noticed a minivan come into the court I live on at approximately 3:15 AM and a different one at 4:25 AM) In the future I will be
either cutting the bottom of the bag as it goes into the can, or
dumping the contents.

Editor's note: This is really bad because recycling and garbage scavenging, besides bringing down the resale value of your home, serves as an easy cover for identity theft. Shred any identity-bearing documents.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

February 18-19

Mail Theft, 3900 block of Kings Way

A resident left mail out for collection. It was payment for a bill. Monday was a holiday, so there was no mail pick up. Over the course of the day/evening, the
letter was stolen from the mailbox. The remnants were recovered by
another neighbor on Louisiana Street and returned to the owner.

[Note: If a check was in the envelope, you will want to call the bank and have them cancel the account, or give it a new number. The information strip at the bottom of the check can be placed on forged checks and used to drain your account with made up personal information--it's the strip at the bottom that matters and the store will not realize before your money is gone.]

February 20, 2:15 AM

Vehicle Burglary, 2500 block of Andrade Way

Burglars broke the window of a work truck and proceeded to
steal the contents. The owner was alerted to the action and chased the
two criminals towards Emigh Hardware. The Sheriff's department was called and responded. At least one suspect was apprehended. (The suspect in custody was reportedly released on parole within the last few weeks). The vehicle the
burglars used was left in front of the victim's residence with the
keys still in the ignition. The victims asked the responding deputies to
search the vehicle and the stolen tools were in the trunk.

February 21

CHP STOP SIGN ENFORCEMENT

The CHP were conducting stop sign enforcement at the intersection of Andrade and Butano on the morning of Thursday, 2-21.

A few tickets and several warnings were issued. (Reportedly, to
nearby residents). The CHP POP officers will be running random
enforcement at varying intersections throughout the neighborhood.

February 27

Stolen Vehicle

A Honda Accord was stolen from Villa Vista Way on or about Wednesday, February 27. It was recovered except for the wheels near Raley Blvd. on Saturday.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

My daughter's truck was broken into last night on Barbarell Way. I reminded her to leave nothing in the autos. When I left her house that day around noonish I saw that black man that looks like cool aid checking out the area. I seen him before.

A security camera is being checked to see if any footage can be obtained.

The black man who was seen evidently goes by the name "Kool Aid." It is reported that he seems to be homeless and regularly disturbs neighbors in the area asking for hand outs. Usually a couple of days after he's been in the area, a crime then happens.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

At approximately midnight on Sunday the 13th of January, a "large, possibly Hispanic male," was seen moving North on Carrisa searching through garbage cans and peering into vehicle windows. The Sheriff's department was called, but no one noted a response.

The garbage cans were not on the street but up at the houses. At the very least, this prowler was trespassing but by looking into car windows he makes it clear he's a potential burglar.

One trick that may help in the future if you see something like this is to hit the panic alarm button for your vehicle. This can drive off a prowler without you showing yourself.

The reporting party tried to call several of the neighbors to alert them, but the calls went unanswered. A call in the middle of the night might be an inconvenience, but open lines of communication can help protect our neighborhood.

Also, note that even if we don't see a response in this case, the Sheriff's department has responded to these calls in the past and reporting of crime and suspicious activity will increase Sheriff patrols in our neighborhood in the future--it's always worth the call.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Fire and Looting, 2800 block of Becerra
At approximately 4 AM on Wednesday, December 26th, a neighbor's home caught fire and was virtually destroyed. The residents were not hurt, but a cat was lost in the fire.

A second cat is missing, it is a smallish, gray and white tabby, named beatle. She was wearing a blue collar with a tag.

Iin the days since this fire the house has reportedly been looted on 4 occasions. A chain link fence has been erected to help prevent any more of this, but you're encouraged to call the Sheriff's Department if you see more looting.

The cause of the fire was linseed oil soaked rags.
For further info on this hazard, Chuck attached a link below. [Note: I didn't get Chuck's link to work, so substituted.]

On Friday and Saturday, December 28th and 29th, someone egged several vehicles on the 2800 block of Ione.

Found

A Carrie Ann doll was found on Maryal Drive near DPM elementary. If you are the owner or know who is, please contact Chuck. It is ceramic, in perfect condition and under the care of another neighbor. Found on December 26th.

Vehicle Burglary on the 2500 block of Andrade 30-31 December
A car was broken into late on the 30th or early on the 31st. The passenger side window was smashed and the car was ransacked. Items stolen included all my maps (weird!), 7-8 CDs, sunglasses and some other small items.